The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines said Wednesday it has assisted the Philippines in cracking down on three “illegal gambling parks” and repatriated nearly 400 Chinese citizens back to China as part of actions against cross-border gambling.
In a published statement, the embassy said it had been discovered that some illegal offshore gaming employees abused Philippine judicial procedures by fabricating cases in the Philippines to avoid repatriation, adding, “China is willing to further cooperate with the Philippines in dealing with such situations to ensure laws are enforced and justice served.”
It also called on the Philippines to “take strong measures to crack down on crimes related to POGOs and root out the social ills in a sweeping manner.”
The embassy’s comments are its first on the issue of online gambling since issuing a statement in October 2022 denying it had placed the Philippines on a blacklist of tourism destinations in relation to issues around its online gaming industry. That statement was posted in response to comments by a Philippines senator claiming the country had been blacklisted because of the “problem of POGO”.
In its latest statement, the embassy reiterated China’s opposition to all forms of gambling and encouraged further cooperation from the Philippines government in ensuring Chinese citizens did not gamble.
“In recent years, the law enforcement agencies of China and the Philippines have maintained good communication and coordination, jointly carried out operations to severely crack down on cross-border gambling, telecommunications and online fraud with tangible results,” the embassy said.
“Crimes induced by online gambling harm not only China’s interests and China-Philippine relations, but also the interests of the Philippines.
“China calls on the Philippines to take strong measures to crack down on crimes related to POGOs and root out the social ills in a sweeping manner. The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with the Philippine government and law enforcement agencies in this regard, and jointly handle repatriation among other related issues.”
As IAG reported this week, Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR is in the process of issuing new licenses to POGO operators – to be known as Internet Gaming Licensees in future – as part of efforts to clean up the offshore gaming industry.
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